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THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
AMERICAN GRAPES . 
A Classic by T. V. Munson—Results of His Experiments During 
a Quarter of a Century—To Provide Good Grapes Through _ 
out a Season — Varieties New to Grape Culturists — 
Not Distributed Through the Northern States. 
One of the most valuable brochures on the grape is the bul¬ 
letin by T. V. Munson recently issued by the Texas Experi¬ 
ment Station. It notes the efforts of Mr. Munson to improve 
the grape during the period from 1876 to 1900, a quarter of a 
century. 
Mr. Munson endeavors to provide good grapes throughout 
an entire season. In his neighborhood, Denison, 1 ex., he 
conceives that grapes should be had in abundance from the 
first of July to the early part of October. This season he 
divides into nine periods of approximately ten days each, 
numbering them in order. Then he endeavors to find varieties 
now in the catalogue, but other than those originated in his own 
grounds, to fill this list. His estimate of the most available 
list of common varieties is given below—the numbers repre¬ 
senting the respective earliness of the varieties. 
Black — ( 1 ) Champion ; ( 2 ) Moore’s Early, Nectar, Campbell Early ; 
(3) McPike, Worden, Early Victor, Ives, Herbert; (4) Concord, Wilder, 
Barry ; (5) Highland ; (6) Lenoir ; (7) Thomas. Red —(2) Moyer, Norfolk 
(Progress); ( 3 ) Brighton, Wyoming, Delaware, Bindley, Salem, 
Agawam ; (4) Jefferson, Diana; (5) Catawba, Goethe ; (6) Herbemont. 
Yellowish Green— ( 2 ) Lady, Green Mountain; ( 3 ) Moore’s Diamond, 
Niagara ; (4) Martha, Missouri Riesling, Pocklington ; (5) Triumph ; (7) 
Scuppernong. 
After discussing the families and varieties of his origination, 
he comes back to this list and tries to fill it with his own 
originations with this result : 
Translucent Red (as good or better than Brighton)—( 1 ) Headlight and 
Presly ; ( 2 ) Pontotoc, Onyx, Tuskahoma; ( 3 ) Brilliant, Yomaga; ( 4 ) 
Amethyst, Tonkawa ; ( 5 ) Waneta; (6) Big Hope ; ( 7 ) Fern and Laussel; 
(8) Marguerite. Bright Black (as good as Concord, or better— (2) 
Manito, Washita, Blackwood ; ( 3 ) Lukfata ; ( 4 ) Delmerlie, Modena ; ( 5 ) 
Beacon, R. W. Munson, America, Bailey, Captain, Carman, Xlnta, 
La Reine; (6) Hopkins, Universal, Muench, Wine King; ( 7 ) Kiowa, 
Husmann, Profusion, La Salle; (8) Wabeck, San Jacinto; ( 9 ) Winter 
Wine. White, or Yellowish White (as good or better than Niagara)— 
(2) Marvina, Bell; ( 3 ) Wapanuka ; ( 4 ) Rommel, Hidalgo; ( 5 ) Estella, 
Tamala, Wetumpka, Hopeon ; (6) Albania, Gold Coin ; ( 7 ) Ouderdonk ; 
(8) Dixie. 
These names are new to the ordinary grape culturist. Some 
of them are yet new to the originator. Long tests are neces¬ 
sary to establish their value in different localities. 
Commenting on the subject the Country Gentleman says : 
There are some men so rich in their experience of certain subjects 
that their knowledge becomes the chief source of information for the 
rest of the world as regards the matters of their life work. The Rev. 
Mr. Hutchins, with his Bweet peas, is one of these. J. W. Kerr, with 
his native plums, is another. But one of the most remarkable authori¬ 
ties of experience in any horticultural line in America is T. V. Munson 
of Texas, the well-known student and hybridizer of American grapes. 
The work of Mr. Munson will probably never be generally known 
and appreciated ; but everything which we common people can learn 
of it from our distance gives us greater respect and admiration for it. 
When Mr. Munson received a decoration from a French society—we 
think it was the badge of chevalier d’honneur from the National Agri¬ 
cultural Society,—for his work in the introduction of hardy grape 
stocks into Europe, we all felt a personal pride in it, as though the 
whole country had been honored. The comparatively small recogni¬ 
tion which the work has gained at home has always seemed more than 
earned. 
The variety of grapes originated by Mr. Munson have not, for the 
most part, been generally distributed throughout the northern states. 
One reason for this is that they have not been boomed by the urgent 
advertising methods known only too well to many originators of new 
varieties. Doubtless it is due also in part to the fact that Mr. Munson’s 
work has been more specially directed to the needs of the South, where 
his home is. It is not too much to say that grape culture for the 
southern states has been revolutionized by his work ; but there are also 
several varieties of his origination which have proved useful in the 
central states, and a few which have been successfully grown all over 
the country. The best known of these are Brilliant, America, Carman, 
Gold Coin, Rommel and Elvicand. Of the hundreds of others sent out 
by the same man, only a few have been tested to any extent in the 
northeastern states. Brilliant and America are two of the best varie¬ 
ties of American grapes in cultivation, for localities where they grow 
well. In the southwestern states, these and a dozen others surpass the 
best Catawba, Niagara and Delaware vintages. The Munson varieties, 
naming only those which have been generally tested, already make a 
large and important addition to our stock of table and wine grapes. 
A certain special interest attaches to all this work, because it is 
purely American. Many of our fruits were brought almost ready¬ 
made from Europe ; but when that method of securing grapevines was 
repeatedly tried by the early settlers, it was a signal failure. It was 
only by the introduction and amelioration of the native species that 
we finally founded the grape industry on an enduring basis. Only 
two of our many native species, however, had ever been used to any 
satisfying result before the labors of T. V. Munson began. These 
were the northeastern Fox grape, from which came the Concord and 
perhaps also the Catawba, with many others of our best known varie¬ 
ties; and the Summer grape, or Pigeon grape, of the southern and 
south-central states. To these two, Mr. Munson has added an even 
two dozen other botanical species and varieties, which have been 
blended in one way and another into many hundreds of new varieties. 
These matters are all fortunately put on record for us by Mr. 
Munson himself, whose work has been published, through some odd 
twist in the common practice, by the Texas Experiment Station. This 
brochure with its clumsy title, “Investigation and Improvement of 
American Grapes at the Munson Experiment Grounds near Denison,. 
Texas, from 1876 to 1900,” will be a classic in the literature of Ameri¬ 
can grape study. 
A. H. GRIESA’S PEACHES. 
A. H. Griesa, Lawrence, Douglas county, thirty-two years 
in Kansas, has 275 pecan trees, 200 of bearing size, all choice 
budded varieties, planted from three to eighteen years, on 
black prairie soil, which he thinks good; says any slope is good 
if it drains well. He is growing Early Rivers, Elberta, New 
Prolific, Ringgold’s Mammoth Cling, Grey’s Rareripe, Ship¬ 
pers’ Late Red, Stevens’s Rareripe. He has discarded Early 
and Late Crawfords, Hale’s Early, Troth’s Early Red, Early 
York, Heath Cling, Tong-pa, Heath Free, Morris White, and 
Haines’s Golden. He would recommend for market and 
family use Early Rivers, Elberta, New Prolific, Bray’s Rare¬ 
ripe, Emma, Ringgold’s Mammoth Cling, Grey’s Rareripe, 
Shippers’ Late Red, and Stevens’s Rareripe. Puts out only 
trees one year from bud, 16 feet apart each way, cutting away 
most all limbs and mutilated roots; heads back severely after a 
hard winter. His earliest are Alexander, Amsden, Arkansas 
Traveler, etc., but he says curculio is too fond of them. 
THE TRADE JOURVAL FIRST. 
Knoxville Nursery Co., N. W. Hale, Knoxville, Tenn., Aug 9. 
1900—“ We enclose our check for $1.00 as payment for the National 
Nurseryman. We take a great many horticultural and other papers 
and journals, but nothing comes to our office that we tear into quicker 
and devour with more delight than the National Nurseryman.” 
